Plastic shoe



Aug. 7, 1945.-

M. P. RIESING PLASTIC sHoE Filed Feb. 25, 1943 mwmmmmmmm@ INVENTOR MABELR R11-:5| NG ATTQRN EYS Patented Aug. 7, 1945 PLASTIC SHOE Mabel P.Riesing, Pontiac, Mich., yassignor to The Firestone Tire & RubberCompany, Akron, Ohio,r,a corporation of Ohio Application February 25,1943, Serial No. 477,165

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-25) The presentv invention relates to shoes,especially to fancy, or dress shoes or to shoes having attractive anddistinctive appearances.

Heretofore substantially all shoes have been made from leather orfabric, but recently the use of plastic material has been introduced inshoe manufacture. Heels of shoes are especially adapted for manufacturefrom plastic material. However, the present invention contemplatesmanufacture of an entire shoe from a plastic material.

Many advantages accompany the use of a plastic' material in shoemanufacture, among which are that the sole and heel of the shoe can beformed integrally from a solid, or hollow plastic block. Then too, theshoes need not be molded or cast, .but can be machined from or cored outof, a solid block of plastic material, whendesired. The plastic used inthe shoe will not deteriorate on exposure to air or Water, asconventional shoe constructions, which characteristic also enables theshoe to be washed off to restore the original luster of the shoe. Use ofa transparent or translucent plastic material enables novel coloreffects to be produced in the shoes by painting the inner surface (whena hollow shoe is made) or an outer surface, thereof, with a distinctivetype of shoe also being provided when a colored plastic material isused. Forming the high heel of a shoe integrally with the sole portionof the shoe prevents the heel from breaking oif the shoe, as in ordinaryshoe constructions, so that shoes made in accordance with the inventionare safer than standard types bfshoes. When the shoes are molded toshape,

a metal arch support can be embedded in the shoe as it is formed.Furthermore, the integral formation of the sole and heel of thelshoereduces the expense of construction of the shoe, since .the\sewing andtacking of soles to the shoe is avoided, as is the nailing on of heels.Insolesl for the shoes are readily cemented in place while insoles inconventional shoes usually are either nailed or sewed into the shoe.

vThe general object of the present invention is to provide an improved,attractive shoe made from plastic material, which shoe is inexpensivelyconstructed and has a long life.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoe which can bereadily cleaned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safe shoe constructionwherein the parts thereof cannot readily be broken therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe which can have avariety of means associated therewith for securing it to the wearersfoot.

The foregoing and/other objects, will be inanifest from the followingspecification, with parthe shoe shown in Figure 1;

ticular reference to the accompanying drawing, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a'shoe embodying the invention; i

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section o Figure 3 is a transversesection of the shoe on line 3 3 of Figure'Z; and

.Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views of joints which may beused in securing parts of the shoe together.

Referring to the drawing, a shoe l0 is shown, which shoe is made solelyfrom a plastic material and which has a distinctive and attractiveappearance. Any suitable plastic, or moldable material may be used inthe practice of the ipvention, for example, cellulose acetate or methylmethacrylate. As indicated above, the shoe and/or parts thereof can beinitially molded to the desired form, or they can be machined out of asolid block of plastic material. The shoe I0 includes an upper or a topmember Il, which is supported by a base member I2, and the upper memberI I has an upper surface Ila which is adapted to engage with and supporta persons foot, there being a heel engaging portion IIb formed at therear end of this member. The under side of the top member II is coredout or recessed or hollow to reduce the weight and volume of plasticmaterial used in forming the same. It will be seen that the top side ofthe base member I2 is cored out or removed in the same manner wherebythe base member is substantially U-,shaped in transverse section. Tworibs I3 are formed in the outer surface of the base member' l2 andextend around the periphery thereof. The lower edge of the top member II telescopes over the upper margin of the member I2 and engages with theupper rib thereon so as to be supported thereby. By arranging the coredout sides'of the members Il and I2 in confronting relation, the shoe I0,which is hollow, is formed. The juncture of the members Il and I2 is asubstantially horizontal plane, which plane is substantially parallel tothe bottom of the shoe. After the member Il4 is positioned onkthe memberI2, it may be cemented or otherwise; secured in position.

Straps or ribbons I4 are carried by the shoe to secure the shoe to thewearers foot. These' straps I4 may be nailed or cemented to the upperportion of the upper member of the shoe. However, slots I5 are shownextending through the members forming the shoe whereby the straps I4 canbe threaded through the slots and formed into loops through which thewearers foot is in-I serted. This arrangement facilitates changing thestraps I4 so that the appearance of the shoe can be changed bysubstituting various colored straps I4 for each other, whereby thestraps could be changed to match the dress of the person wearing theshoe.

Figure 4 shows adjacent edge portions of two members used in forming ahollow shoe.- In this instance a member 2l is provided with a protrudingshoulder 22 on one of its surfaces adjacent its lower margin and thisshoulder engages with the margin of a substantially L-shaped projection23 formed on the upper edge of a second shoe member 24 whereby a strongconnection is formed between the component parts of the shoe. Figure 5shows a lapped-butt joint which can be formedbetween two shoe sections.A recess 25 is formed in one side of the lower edge of a shoe member 26whereas a similar recess 21 is formed in the opposite side of the upperedge of a second shoemember 28,` which recesses are adapted to receivethe adjacent marginal portion of the opposite shoe member,

whereby a smooth joint is formed between the` two and these shoe partscan be permanently united by cementing or nailing the overlappedportions of the shoe sections together.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a sturdy shoe of unusualconstruction and appearance is provided by the invention. This shoe iseasily manufactured and retains its original shape throughout its life.The shoe is made from two parts which are hollowed or cored out. orsolid, as desired. The shoe is readily cleaned, and possessesthe otherfeatures mentioned hereinbefore, whereby the objects of the inventionare achieved.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing illustration and descriptionof the invention is for illustrative purposes only and that the spiritof the invention includes modifications thereof such as come within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shoe comprising a molded foot supporting structure having areversely curved foot-conforming top face and a substantially flatgroundengaging bottom face, said structure consisting of a bottomsection, and an upper section superposed thereon and permanentlyattached thereto, the juncture of said sections lying in a plane that issubstantially parallelto the flat bottom face of the structure.

2. A shoe comprising a hollow foot supporting structure having areversely curved foot-conforming top face and a substantially ilatgroundengaging bottom face, said structure consisting of a bottomsection and an upper section superposed thereon, the confronting sidesof said sections being recessed, said sections being permanentlyattached to each other, the line of juncture being in a plane that issubstantially parallel to the flat bottom face of the structure.

` MABEL P. RIESING.

